JP2003248545A - Method for producing touch panel - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for producing a touch panel without generating a Newton ring. <P>SOLUTION: Vertical boards with a pair of transparent electrodes arranged thereon are disposed to allow the surfaces of the transparent electrodes to face each other, and adhered with a sealing agent concerning the touch panel producing method. The sealing agent 16 is formed by printing in the peripheral part of an upper board 1 consisting of a micro-glass plate, and the upper board 1 is superimposed on a lower board 2 consisting of a glass plate via the sealing agent 16. The superimposed upper and lower boards 1 and 2 are set to hardening jigs 9, and, then, the sealing agent 16 is heated and pressurized for calcining. Thus, the upper board 1 is adhered onto the lower board 2 through the use of the sealing agent 16. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device such as a car navigation system, which is arranged on a screen of a liquid crystal display, and a user directly presses a display screen of information with a finger or a pen according to an instruction on the screen to see data. The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a touch panel that is input, has a beautiful screen, and is excellent in durability, wear resistance, and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A touch panel as an input switch integrated with a display device is used by being arranged on the display surface of the display device. In the touch panel, an upper substrate composed of a micro glass plate and a transparent electrode formed on the lower surface thereof and a lower substrate composed of a glass plate and a transparent electrode formed on the upper surface thereof are transparent electrodes with a predetermined space therebetween. They are arranged so that they face each other, and are attached with a sealant.

In this touch panel, when the upper portion of the upper substrate is pressed with an input pen or a finger, the upper substrate is bent and the transparent electrode of the upper substrate comes into contact with the transparent electrode of the lower substrate at the pressing point. Then, the coordinates of the contact point are detected by measuring the electric resistance, and the input information is read. An example of such a conventional touch panel manufacturing method will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 6, FIG. 7, FIG. 8, FIG. 9, and FIG. 10 are views showing the manufacturing process of a conventional touch panel. FIG. 6 shows a state in which the sealant 6 is printed on the lower substrate 2, and FIG.
Is a plan view of the lower substrate 2, and FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG. 6A. 7 shows a state in which the transparent electrode 3 is formed on the upper substrate 1, FIG. 7 (a) is a plan view of the upper substrate 1, and FIG. 7 (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line DD in FIG. 7 (a). Is. FIG. 8 shows a state in which the upper substrate 1 is superposed on the lower substrate 2. 9 shows a process of setting the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 superposed on the curing jig 9 and pressurizing and heating, and FIG. 10 shows the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 adhered with the sealant 6. It is a figure which shows the state of.

As shown in FIG. 6, a transparent electrode 4 is formed on a lower substrate 2 made of a soda glass plate having a thickness of 1.1 mm, and lead-out electrodes 8a and 8b connected to the transparent electrode 4 are formed.
To form. Further, after forming dot spacers 5 on the transparent electrode 4, a sealant 6 is formed on the peripheral portion of the lower substrate 2.
To print. At this time, the opening 6a of the sealant 6 is provided in a part of the peripheral portion of the lower substrate 2.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7, the thickness is 0.2 mm.
Similarly to the lower substrate 2, the transparent electrode 3 and the leading electrodes 7a and 7b are formed on the upper substrate 1 made of the micro glass plate.

Next, as shown in FIG. 8, the lower substrate 2 on which the sealant 6 is printed is faced down, and the upper substrate 1 is superposed. At this time, the transparent electrode 4 formed on the lower substrate 2
And the transparent electrode 3 formed on the upper substrate 1 are arranged so as to face each other.

Next, as shown in FIG. 9, the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 superposed on the curing jig 9 are set with the lower substrate 2 on the lower side, and they are pressurized and heated for a predetermined time, and a sealant is applied. Bake 6. As a result, the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 are attached with the sealant 6.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing the state of slow cooling after firing. Then, the opening 6a of the sealant 6 shown in FIG. 6 is sealed. Through the above manufacturing process, the touch panel according to the conventional technique is manufactured.

[0010]

As described above, the conventional 2
In a touch panel using a number of glass substrates, the glass upper substrate 1 on the side that presses the surface with a fingertip or an input pen needs to use a thin material to lighten the input, and is made of a special glass material. Micro glass is used.

However, in the conventional touch panel manufacturing method, the adhesion between the upper substrate 1 and the sealant 6 is poor. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10, there is a problem that the upper substrate 1 is deformed into a concave shape toward the lower surface side and a Newton ring is generated. In addition, this correction requires a great deal of time and labor, and may result in defective products. As described above, there is a problem in that the yield in the manufacturing process is low and the cost is high.

(Object of the Invention) The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and by improving the adhesion between the upper substrate and the sealant, the manufacturing is facilitated and a Newton ring is not generated. An object of the present invention is to provide a touch panel manufacturing method that can be manufactured at low cost.

[0013]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, in the method of manufacturing a touch panel according to claim 1 of the present invention, the upper and lower substrates on which a pair of transparent electrodes are arranged are In a method of manufacturing a touch panel that is installed so as to face each other and is attached with a sealant, a sealant is printed and formed on a peripheral portion of the upper substrate, and the upper substrate and the lower substrate are superposed with each other via the sealant, The upper substrate and the lower substrate may be adhered to each other with the sealing agent by heating and pressing the stacked upper and lower substrates to burn the sealing agent.

The method of manufacturing a touch panel according to the second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the upper substrate is made of a micro glass plate and the lower substrate is made of a glass plate.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG.
FIG. 6A is a diagram for explaining the method for manufacturing the touch panel according to the present embodiment. Hereinafter, the method for manufacturing the touch panel according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the manufacturing process of the upper substrate 1, and FIG. 1A is a plan view of the upper substrate 1.
1B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, a transparent electrode 3 is formed on an upper substrate 1 made of a micro glass plate having a thickness of 0.2 mm, and lead-out electrodes 7a and 7b connected to the transparent electrode 3 are formed. The sealant 16 is printed on the peripheral portion of the substrate 1.
At this time, the opening 16a of the sealant 16 is provided in a part of the peripheral portion of the upper substrate 1.

As the micro glass used as the upper substrate 1, borosilicate glass or the like can be given as an example. Moreover, the transparent electrode 3 has a thickness of 50Å to 4000Å
An ITO film of a certain degree is formed by sputtering, CVD or the like, and a pattern is formed by etching. Further, as lead-out electrodes 7a and 7b electrically connected to the transparent electrode 3, a silver paste film having a thickness of about 1 to 20 μm is printed and formed by baking at 130 ° C. for about 60 minutes.

The sealant 16 printed on the peripheral portion of the upper substrate 1 is used to bond the upper substrate 1 and the lower substrate 2 to each other, and an epoxy resin adhesive, an acrylic resin adhesive or the like is selected, and a screen 1 ~ 2.5mm by printing method
It is formed in the width of the range. A spacer member such as a plastic ball or a fiber glass having a required size is dispersed in the sealant 16, and the spacer member serves to hold the upper substrate 1 and the lower substrate 2 at a required distance. Is done.

2A and 2B are views for explaining the manufacturing process of the lower substrate 2, and FIG. 2A is a plan view of the lower substrate 2 and FIG.
2B is a sectional view taken along line BB in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, on the lower substrate 2 made of a soda glass plate having a thickness of 1.1 mm, the transparent electrode 4 and the routing electrodes 8a and 8b are formed similarly to the upper substrate 1. Then, the dot spacers 5 are formed on the transparent electrodes 4.

The dot spacer 5 formed on the surface of the transparent electrode 4 is a square or circular shape having a size of about 30 to 40 μm and an acrylic resist having a thickness of about 3 to 12 μm of about 4 to 5 mm. A pattern is uniformly formed by a photolithography process at intervals of. Moreover, the dot spacers 5 may be made of a photo-curing resin by printing.

FIG. 3 shows a step of superposing the lower substrate 2 on the upper substrate 1. As shown in FIG. 3, with the upper substrate 1 on which the sealant 16 is printed facing down, the lower substrate 2 is stacked. At this time, the transparent electrode 4 formed on the lower substrate 2 and the transparent electrode 3 formed on the upper substrate 1 with the side on which the sealant 16 of the upper substrate 1 is printed facing upward.
And so that they face each other.

In FIG. 4, the sealing agent 16 is prepared by using the curing jig 9.
The process of baking is shown. As shown in FIG. 4, the curing jig 9
The upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 superposed on each other are set with the lower substrate 2 on the lower side, and the temperature is 0.2 to 0.25 kg / cm 2, 150 ° C.
Then, the sealant 16 is baked by pressurizing and heating at 60 ° C. for 90 to 90 minutes. Then, by slowly cooling, the upper and lower substrates 1,
The peripheral portion of No. 2 is adhered with the sealant 16 at a constant interval of about 8 to 12 μm. Then, the opening 16a of the sealant 16 shown in FIG. 1 is sealed. The touch panel in the present embodiment is realized by the above manufacturing process.
FIG. 5 shows the upper and lower substrates 1, 2 adhered with the sealant 16.
It is a figure which shows the state of.

As described above, according to the touch panel manufacturing method of this embodiment, the sealing agent 16 is printed and formed on the peripheral portion of the upper substrate 1, and the upper substrate 1 and the lower substrate 2 are attached with the sealing agent 16. The adhesion improves the adhesion between the upper substrate 1 and the sealant 16. Thereby, the upper substrate 1
It is possible to prevent the upper surface shape of the concave shape from becoming a concave shape, and to form a flat surface or a slightly convex shape to prevent the generation of Newton's rings.

In this embodiment, borosilicate glass is used as an example of the material for the upper substrate 1, and the lower substrate 2 is used.
Although the soda glass has been described as an example of the above material, it is needless to say that the material is not limited to this and other materials can be used.

[0025]

According to the method for manufacturing a touch panel of the present invention, the sealant is printed on the upper substrate and the upper and lower substrates are adhered with the sealant, whereby the adhesion between the upper substrate and the sealant is improved. As a result, the upper surface of the upper substrate has a flat surface or a slightly convex shape, and it is possible to prevent the generation of Newton's rings. In addition, the improved adhesion between the upper substrate and the sealant stabilizes the quality,
Manufacturing becomes easy, and man-hour reduction and cost reduction can be realized.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a manufacturing process of a touch panel according to an embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in which a sealant is printed on an upper substrate.
1A is a plan view of the upper substrate, and FIG. 1B is FIG. 1A.
3 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG.

FIG. 2 shows a manufacturing process of a touch panel according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 (a) is a plan view of a lower substrate, and FIG. 2 (b).
FIG. 3B is a sectional view taken along line BB in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a manufacturing process of the touch panel according to the embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in which an upper substrate is superposed on a lower substrate.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a touch panel manufacturing process in an embodiment of the present invention, showing a process of setting the upper and lower substrates superposed on a curing jig, and applying pressure / heating.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a manufacturing process of the touch panel according to the embodiment of the present invention, showing a state of upper and lower substrates adhered with a sealant.

FIG. 6 shows a manufacturing process of a touch panel according to a conventional technique, showing a state in which a sealant is printed on a lower substrate. Figure 6
6A is a plan view of the lower substrate, and FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC of FIG. 6A.

7A and 7B show a manufacturing process of a touch panel in a conventional technique, FIG. 7A is a plan view of an upper substrate, and FIG.
It is a DD sectional view in (a).

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a touch panel manufacturing process in a conventional technique, showing a state in which an upper substrate is superposed on a lower substrate.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a touch panel manufacturing process in the related art, showing a process of setting the upper and lower substrates superposed on a curing jig, and applying pressure / heating.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a touch panel manufacturing process in the related art and showing a state of upper and lower substrates adhered with a sealant.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Upper substrate 2 Lower substrate 3 transparent electrodes 4 transparent electrodes 5 dot spacer 6 Sealant 7a, 7b routing electrodes 8a, 8b routing electrodes 9 Curing jig 16 Sealant

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    F term (reference) 2H089 HA18 HA35 KA11 QA12                 5B068 AA05 AA33 BB06 BC07                 5B087 AA09 AC09 CC12 CC14 CC37

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A method for manufacturing a touch panel, in which upper and lower substrates having a pair of transparent electrodes are installed so that the transparent electrode surfaces face each other, and a sticking agent is applied, wherein a sealing agent is applied to a peripheral portion of the upper substrate. The upper substrate and the lower substrate are printed and formed, the upper substrate and the lower substrate are overlapped with each other via the sealant, and the upper and lower substrates are heated and pressed so that the sealant is fired to form the upper substrate and the lower substrate. A method for manufacturing a touch panel, which comprises sticking with a sealant. 2. The method of manufacturing a touch panel according to claim 1, wherein the upper substrate is a micro glass plate, and the lower substrate is a glass plate.